Day 1
Arrive HANOI

Welcome on arrival in Hanoi. Drive to our selected hotel in the town. Take rest after journey.

Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, ranks amongst the world's most attractive and interesting cities. It was first the capital of Vietnam in A.D. 1010, and though the nation's capital moved to Hue under the Nguyen dynasty in 1802, the city continued to flourish after the French took control in 1888. In 1954, after the French departed, Hanoi was declared Vietnam's capital once again. The remnants of over 1,000 years of history are still visible here, with that of the past few hundred years wonderfully preserved.

Day 2
HANOI; city highlights

Enjoy a full day tour of Hanoi. Your guide will be happy to personalise your programme, however we would recommend sites such as Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum, One Pillar Pagoda and a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake. For many the Temple of Literature is a highlight worth lingering over. Built in 1070, this complex of atmospheric halls, pavilions and courtyards is dedicated to Confucius and scholars. Of special note are the 82 remaining steles of stone shaped like turtles which are elaborately carved with the names of candidates that sat the Royal examinations. A walking tour through the Old Quarter will provide another fascinating insight into the character and history of the city, before moving on to Dong Xuan Market with its bustling stalls and brisk trading of day-to-day local goods.

After lunch, consider visiting the very popular Ethnology Museum or the central Hoa Lo Prison, nicknamed the Hanoi Hilton by American POW's during the war. Alternatively your guide will be happy to discuss alternative places of interest that you may wish to consider.

In the evening we recommend staying in and around the Old Quarter where there is a large selection of excellent restaurants and cafes to choose from. There is also the amazing 'street-food' such as Pho to be found on every corner!

Day 4
LAOCAI, Ethnic market, SAPA

Upon arrival in Lao Cai train station, get picked up and transferred for breakfast at a local restaurant and then visit one of the most colorful minority markets which we suggest:

Tuesday: Coc Ly market (2-hour drive from Sapa)

Thursday: Lung Khau Nhin market (2-hour drive from Sapa)

Saturday: Can Cau market (3-hour drive from Sapa)

Sunday: Bac Ha market (3-hour drive from Sapa)

Drive to Sapa after market, check in hotel and take a rest…….Late afternoon, start trekking downhill from Sapa town to Cat Cat village. The trekking route offers a breathtaking view of vegetable gardens and rice terraces with green mountains rising above. Take a rest at the scenic waterfall and balance your way across their hanging bridge. There will be time for visiting with local families and learning about their traditional fiber processing.

Day 5
Visit minority villages, LaoCai, Hanoi

Morning drive to Y Linh Ho from where you will start a walk into the Muong Hoa Valley below, passing through some of the stunning rice paddy terraces that the region is so well known for. You will stop at several spots that offer panoramic views of the valleys below and you are also likely to pass many H’mong people. Thanks to the linguistic skills of your guide, you will have the opportunity to interact with them and learn more about their way of life.

Having returned to Sapa for lunch, in the afternoon take a trail heading out of town. Passing through beautiful gardens and lush pine forests you will soon arrive at the Black H'mong ethnic minority village of Matra. During the afternoon you will also be able to visit a local school and the Catholic church of Taphin if our time permits. At leisure in the town before your transfer to Lao Cai Train Station for the overnight train back to Hanoi

Day 6
HANOI, HALONG bay

We are getting back Hanoi early in the morning that is on time to visit Quang Ba flower market. Unlike most other wet markets in Vietnam, this pre-dawn flower market has a more peaceful, tranquil atmosphere, and life only seems to flow by in a slower pace. The market attracts a lot of florists and flower-lovers from all over Hanoi, is a must-visit site of the city. Though it is active throughout the day, the best time to visit the market is breaking dawn. Just come here to enjoy the smells of earth and the scent of fresh flowers in the morning dew. Leaving the market, we get checked in small hotel for a short rest and breakfast before the journey to Halong Bay.

Arrival and be welcomed on board, set sail through Bai Tu Long bay while seafood lunch is served. Rest your eyes on the azure waters of this magical bay, where thousands of sculpted limestone islands rise from the waves like dragons’ teeth, passing picturesque area around Mat Quy islet, Am islet. Mid-afternoon, get to Cua Van fishing village and enjoy a pleasant bamboo boat row to through the village with a museum and a school among floating homes. Visit Tien Ong cave then back on board to enjoy sunset cocktails and canapé.

Day 7
HALONG BAY

After breakfast, transfer to your day – trip boat with private crew and cruise to the bay’s most untouched areas. Enjoy swimming on quiet beaches, visiting water tunnels, fishing villages or kayaking. Lunch served on board by your private chef. Return to the mother boat for the night.

Day 8
HALONG, HANOI, DANANG, HOIAN

See the Surprise Cave, the largest and most beautiful cave in the bay. Wander through the narrow opening to where the cavern opens up with stunning rock formations lit up with colourful lights. Cruise back to Halong pier and return to Hanoi for flight to Da Nang and onwards transfer to Hoi An.

Once known as Faifo, the UNESCO designated World Heritage town of Hoi An was one of the Orient’s major trading ports in the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite the passing of the years and the ravages of weather and war, the centre of Hoi An remains much the same as it did in its heyday. The town is undoubtedly one of the highlights of any visit to Vietnam with the laid-back atmosphere and the fine Colonial architecture lining cobbled streets offering a glimpse of times gone-by.

Day 9
HOIAN, walking round to explore the Ancient town

Enjoy a full-day excursion to Hoi An, a major trading center, once knownas "Faifo" to the earliest Western traders. It was also an important port forthe Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Japanese and other merchant vesselsfrom the Far East. Visit a temple with partially gilded statues in the center, apagoda dedicated to sailors and fishermen and a chapel with origins in the 1700sthat reflects the influences of Chinese and Japanese styles. Stop at the SaHuynh Museum, located near the Japanese Covered Bridge, which containsexhibitions from the earliest period of Hoi An's history. Late this afternoon, take a boat trip on the Thu Bon River to Kim Bong Village on Cam Kim Island tosee the wood workers and shipbuilding families. Return to your haven onworld-famous "China Beach," with the evening at your leisure.

Day 10
HOIAN

Day 11
HOIAN, DANANG, SAIGON

Free at leisure till the transfer to Danang airport for your flight to Saigon. Get the picked up and check in hotel on arrival. The rest is on your own.

Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam and is located near the Mekong Delta. The city was then renamed after the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam in 1975, becoming Ho Chi Minh City. Today the city centre is still adorned with wide elegant boulevards and historic French buildings. However, as the undoubted economic centre of Vietnam, high rise office towers are starting to take their place amongst this wonderful colonial architecture.

Day 12
MEKONG DELTA with Mekong Queen cruises

A one day excursion will begin after boarding a luxury wooden boat, the Mekong Queen, with a visit of the Cai Be floating market (the earlier visit the more boats found), where you can observe the busy trading activities of local traders with several kinds of agricultural product from one boat to another. You then continue the cruise to a local factory to visit and learn how pop rice, pop corn, rice paper and coconut candies are made. You also have an opportunity to taste these products served with hot green tea. Returning to the boat to take a 50 minute excursion to Dong Hoa Hiep Island and discover the beautiful and peaceful sceneries together with the typical life of the region a long the Mekong River. Stops and visits can be made during the excursion.

A 10 minute walk through a local village and fruit gardens, you will be able to stop at a local family scaled Longan process factory, where you have another opportunity to take photo of and interact with the so friendly and hard working local people before coming to an old Mandarin house, built hundred years ago and it is where at least four generations of the family have been living. A so delicious Vietnamese lunch will be served by the owner, Mrs.Kiet.

Returning to the Mekong Queen by walking or taking a small rowing sampan for another one hour and a half cruise through to Vinh Long, the capital town of Cuu Long (nine Dragon) province. You then visit another local house where you have a short walk through his nursery garden and enjoy several kinds of tropical fruit in the Mekong Delta and taste snake wine …. Getting back to the boat to cross the Co Chien River, one of the 2 branches of the Mekong, called the upper one to Vinh Long Pier where you get on board your vehicle for a drive back to Saigon.

Day 13
SAIGON; city highlights, SIEMREAP

After breakfast, join us with the city highlights at which the sites recommended as the Reunification Palace, formerly South Vietnam's Presidential Palace, which remains largely untouched since the day Saigon finally fell to North Vietnamese troops in 1975; Notre Dame Cathedral and the Old Saigon Post Office offer visitors a glimpse of a French Colonial past, with the latter being design by Gustave Eiffel himself. For most a visit to the War Remnants Museum, formally known as the Museum of American War Crimes is high on the list, and although it can be quite a chilling experience, the various exhibitions offer an insight into the suffering of the Vietnamese people during recent conflicts…….Finish the visit and we drive to the airport for the flight out to our next destination in SiemReap.

Siem Reap is the base for exploring the fabled temples of Angkor, the ancient capital of the Khmer empire. Over 100 temples are spread over a vast area and the site easily lives up to its status as one of the seven wonders of the forgotten world.

Day 14
Explore ANGKOR

Experience the local “tuktuk” to explore Angkor…..you will firstly visit the monumental magnificence of Angkor Thom - last capital of the Khmers, with its Elephant Terrace, the Terrace of the Leper King and the stunning Bayon temple. This 12th century masterpiece lies at the very centre of Angkor Thom and is an archaeological wonder of symmetry and grandeur. The exterior gallery walls have extensive bas-reliefs but the highlight is the faces, more than 200 of them, silent but with the famous half-smile playing on their lips. PJ de Beerski wrote of them; Godliness in the majesty and the size, mystery in the expression.

In the afternoon, you will visit Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the world, with a volume of stone equaling that of the Cheops pyramid in Egypt. It is unlike all the other Khmer temples in that it faces west, and is inspired by 12th Century Hinduism. Its symmetrical towers are stylized on the modern Cambodian flag. Conceived by Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat took an estimated 30 years to build. It is generally believed to have been a funeral temple for the king. It has been occupied continuously by Buddhist monks and is well preserved. Intricate bas-reliefs surround Angkor Wat on four sides. Each tells a story. The most celebrated of these is the Churning of the Ocean of Milk, which is located on the east wing. In it the Naga serpent, is twisted by demons and gods to spurt out the elixir of life. Enjoy the sunset and get back hotel lately in the afternoon.

Day 15
More in SIEMREAP, Sunset cruise

After breakfast, our team will take you to visit the Banteay Srei - one of the most unusual and widely recognisable temples of Angkor. Built largely of red sandstone, it is covered with elaborate and deeply carved decoration. All the buildings are miniature in scale and it is this, along with the beautiful carvings, that have made it such a popular temple…..Return and get a truly spa experience at Bodia Spa . Bodia Spa Siem Reap also known as the "Cambodian Cocoon" is a spa uniquely designed using only natural and local resources to allow for its smooth curves and relaxing atmosphere. Bodia Spa is known as the most interesting and highest quality day spa in the region; with its 21 luxury & individual treatment’s rooms equipped with rain showers, it is well designed for relaxation of the mind and body.

Late afternoon, you will be picked up by our guide and transferred to the Tonle Sap Lake. Not far from the impressive Angkor Complex lies the huge Tonle Sap Lake. It is one of the world’s most productive bodies of fresh water. In the wet season, the Tonle Sap Lake swells to 12,000 km². During the dry half of the year, the lake on the contrary shrinks to as small as 2500 km², draining into the Tonle Sap River. Each year, millions of fish come to spawn in the seasonally flooded forest surrounding the lake, attracting a myriad of water birds as well as people, who have settled in villages along the shores and who live with the rhythm of the water. This ecosystem has been classified as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1997. You will be driven 15 km South of Siem Reap where you will take a private boat and discover the floating village of Chong Khneas as well as the wildlife of the lake. Champagne and fruits on board for a unique sunset on the Lake…..Get back and enjoy dinner at one of the best tables in town.

•All admission fees at attractions, temples and activities as mentioned in the itinerary

•Boat trip wherever it has

•All meals listed

•Government tax

Exclusions

•Visas

•International arrival & departure flight ticket and airport tax

•Regional flight Saigon – SiemReap (on request)

•Domestic flight within Vietnam (on request)

•Any meals not listed in the itinerary

•Drinks, other than water on activity days

•Personal expenses (laundry, telephone, drinks, tips…)

•Camera fee (if any)

•Peak-season surcharge & compulsory meals to be advised at the time of booking

•Travel insurance & other services not listed in “inclusive”

Remarks

•The itinerary is flexible, depending on arrival or departure flights of passengers

•Ground operator reserved the right to amend or adjust itinerary to match with real situation

•The confirmation is subject to the availability at the time of booking

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